


We Don't Need to Rush This (Let's Just Take It Slow)

by americanhoney913



Series: The Lion and the Dragon [10]
Category: World Wrestling Entertainment
Genre: Baby Charlynch, Charlotte dumped Bram's ass before he could propose, F/F, First Date, Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-29
Updated: 2019-09-29
Packaged: 2020-11-01 15:14:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,140
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20817254
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/americanhoney913/pseuds/americanhoney913
Summary: I know that if we give this a little timeIt'll only bring us closerTo the love we wanna findIt's never felt so realNo it's never felt so right--- Just a Kiss, Lady Antebellum





	We Don't Need to Rush This (Let's Just Take It Slow)

**Author's Note:**

> This story takes place in the summer of 2013
> 
> [Baby Charlynch](https://66.media.tumblr.com/b812dfd945d2643e3d5fb14a7f61ce69/2716176ba3bed11b-17/s1280x1920/24b5a0b4e6940444a3274adde225bea8442695b9.jpg)

Becky shifts from foot to foot, her eyes focused on the number 16, Charlotte’s apartment number, and brings her thumb up. She nibbles at the nail and closes her eyes, trying her breathing exercises for when she gets anxious. She can hear muffled movement on the other side and smiles when she hears Charlotte’s voice. Becky doesn’t know what she’s saying, but if the sound of a continuous thump is anything to go by, she’s guessing the blonde is having trouble putting on her other shoe.

The brunette lets go of her nail and runs her hand through her hair, pulling on it to help alleviate her nerves. The sound of the door unlocking makes her stand up a little taller, puff out her chest a little more. Charlotte opens the door, her delicate fingers curled around the doorframe, and she smiles that blinding smile at Becky. Her hair, black as midnight bleeding into a soft dirty gold towards the bottom, is pulled back into a loose ponytail that drapes over her beautifully strong shoulder. She’s wearing a pair of cutoff shorts and Becky knows she’s in trouble, but it’s paired with a beautiful blue-- ROYAL blue-- jewel-tone twisted halter top that dips down to show off a modest amount of Charlotte’s generous cleavage. God, this is going to be just as hard as it is in the ring when the practice, and the older woman’s covered more than her ring gear ever does and--

“Uh, Becky?”

The brunette’s head shoots up and she can feel her face getting red as she swallows. “I… Sorry… Ya look beautiful, Charlie.” She holds her arm with her other hand and rubs it up and down her upper arm.

“You don’t look so bad yourself.” Charlotte’s voice is soft and airy as she reaches out to pull at one of Becky’s suspenders. The brunette hadn’t wanted to seem to fancy or too casual, so she went for a tight white t-shirt under some silver suspenders and a nice jacket, but paired it with black jean shorts and her favorite pair of Converse. “Very handsome.”

Becky blows out a breath and her shoulders sag slightly. “Thanks.”

“Please don’t be nervous,” Charlotte says as Becky grabs her hand and leads the older woman to her beat-up old green Jeep Wrangler. There’s mud along the bottom from when she went hiking with Bayley and Carmella last weekend and Charlotte chuckles as Becky flicks a piece with her nail. “It’s just me, Becks. We’ve hung out before.”

“I know, but this, this is different.” Becky opens the door for Charlotte and winces when some of the dried mud creates a mark on one of her golden legs. Becky loves those legs, hates to see them dirtied by the mud she stupidly forgot to clean off her car. “We’re not going out with the other girls to stuff our faces with McDonald's on cheat day or group gym sessions. It’s, uh, it’s just the two of us. Together. On a date.” She shrugs as she jumps in and watches Charlotte rub the mud between her fingertips. “It’s different and I don’t want to fuck it up. No, uh, mess it up. I don’t want to mess it up.”

Charlotte wrinkles her nose and reaches up to hold onto the bar above her as Becky pulls out of her apartment complex and they hit the streets. Becky takes another deep breath and can’t help but let her gaze wander every now and then to Charlotte’s arms and her skin and the way her hair blows in the breeze through the open car, just held back by the hair tie.

She knows tonight is going to be a hard one and she hopes she doesn’t get too tongue-tied in front of the beautiful legacy wrestler.

* * *

After a delicious dinner at a seafood restaurant along the boardwalk, Becky takes Charlotte’s hands in hers with a shy smile and walks backwards until her feet hit sand. She stumbles a little bit before Charlotte pulls her into the circle of her strong arms and chuckles. The brunette scowls and pushes off of the older woman’s body, swallowing as her fingers press against hard abs under the soft t-shirt.

The sunset bounces off of Charlotte’s skin and hair, making her look like a goddess. Becky can imagine her with blonde hair, spun gold, and smiles at the thought.

“What?”

“Ya jus' look so beautiful,” Becky breathes as she turns from Charlotte to the sunset, although the light can’t hide her warm cheeks. “If ya had blonde hair, ya’d look like a goddess.” She turns back to Charlotte and tugs on the blonde ends of her ponytail. “Instead of dark hair.”

The older brunette lets out a breath. “I’ve been thinking of that. Making it blonde. It would fit the look I'm going for. For my character, you know.”

“Spun gold,” Becky whispers as she drops the ponytail in favor of tracing Charlotte’s jawline. She can feel the brunette shudder under her hand and her pulse pounds against her thumb.

“You can’t just say things like that,” Charlotte admonishes, but it’s a soft, almost loving sound that carries on the wind and dances around Becky until it sinks into her skin. “You can’t just say things like that, Becks.”

“Why not?” Becky’s voice lowers to match Charlotte’s and she takes another step closer, until she’s further in Charlotte’s space than she’s ever been outside the practice ring. “Why can’t I call ya a goddess? It’s what ya are. A goddess. A queen. Aphrodite sprung from the sea and come to stand in front of me.”

Charlotte’s face flushes and she pushes Becky’s hand away from her cheek so that she can take it in her own. She pulls Becky closer and leans down so that their foreheads are touching. Becky shivers, but the warmth from Charlotte bleeds into her skin from the contact. They say that the eyes are the window of the soul and the older woman’s eyes are the deepest blue she’s ever seen, shifting like the tide with the pull of the rising moon. The taller woman is like an ocean, beautiful and blue, and Becky just wants to dive into her eyes, into her soul.

“You’re so stupid,” Charlotte whispers in the space between them, before their lips brush, a butterfly of a touch that sends a jolt as powerful as lightning thundering through her bones. Becky leans forward to meet her halfway and they’re kissing and they’re _kissing _and Charlotte’s _kissing her._ Kissing her deeply and fiercely, as if she’ll drown.

The kiss feels like the wind singing its untamed song in her veins. It’s the sheer spinning dizziness of untethered life within her blood. It’s the fine cool clearness of starlight on the water. It’s the sparks of an unfettered fire spreading along her bones and igniting a blazing inferno in her chest.

The kiss is everything. 

Becky doesn’t know if she’s kissing Charlotte or if Charlotte’s kissing her, but it doesn’t matter. She pulls the taller woman down, pulls her close, hands resting on her waist, Charlotte’s tangled in her hair. She tilts her head to the side, standing up on her tiptoes, fitting their lips together as Charlotte holds her close. The pounding of her heart through her shirt makes Becky dizzy with joy. No one else’s heart beats like Charlotte’s or ever could.

Becky breaks away first, heart leaping in great bounds against her chest, breathing as if she’d just finished a long, long session in the ring and come out on top, the champion, and hopefully the winner of Charlotte's heart. It sure feels like that when her eyes flutter open and she notices sea glass chips exploding in Charlotte’s eyes like fireworks. Her tongue darts across her lips, incredulity in her heart. She can taste Charlotte there, a cool sharpness like starlight, like the moon dazzling across nighttime snow, like freedom and soaring lights, like flowers blooming in the desert after a long drought.

They break apart, staring at each other in surprise for a moment, before Charlotte impossibly, beautifully, wonderfully-- smiles at her. 

“Your heart is beating so fast,” she says, pressing her hand to Becky’s sternum as the muscle beats rapidly in the chest.

_ ‘Our hearts are wild, fickle creatures,’ _ Becky thinks, _ ‘that’s why our ribs are cages.’ _

“I know,” Becky admits, wondering if she’s dreaming, but the look on Charlotte’s face is more real to her than anything she’s ever known. “I may have wanted to do that for a while.”

Charlotte’s hand slides through her hair, curling around the back of her neck. “Then do it,” she whispered. “Kiss me.”

The brawler kisses her softly, barely a whisper of their lips together this time, but it’s still enough to send jolts like lightning through her blood. It feels like Charlotte's unlocked something within her, opened Pandora's box, but she doesn't want it to close ever again.

Becky has always thought of people like padlocks and it doesn’t matter how big or small the padlock is, there's always a key out there somewhere that opens it. Becky knows that Charlotte has hers and she hopes to the great wrestling gods that she has Charlotte's key.

“I think I could love you,” Charlotte whispers into the still night air, the sunset kissing the ocean as the moon rises and the stars peek out from behind the twilight curtain. “Not now, but…” She trails off with a soft smile and Becky pushes her nose against Charlotte’s soft, golden skin.

“I think I could too,” Becky responds, “but I’m waiting for you to kiss me again to be totally sure. It’s… it’s basic security. You know?”

“I shouldn’t find you endearing. But yet, here I am,” Charlotte says with a heavy, joking sigh, but she’s grinning. It lights up her face, making the oceans in her eyes dance. She’s beautiful in the new moon light. “Perhaps that’s why you mean so much. I never thought… I never thought someone could make me feel this way again.”

The taller woman leans down, pulls at Becky’s hair a little so that she’s not buried in her shoulder anymore, and therefore easier to kiss. Their lips press together, soft and slow this time, sparks flaring up into a softly simmering inferno. It deepens as Becky tilts her head and Charlotte’s hands slide into her hair, curling around the nape of her neck. Breathless. Weightless.

Eventually, they have to break apart, however reluctant they are. Becky takes a deep breath, trying to calm her racecar of a heart, pounding pavement inside her chest. The salty sea air helps but all she wants to do is dive back into Charlotte.

Charlotte finally swallows nervously, one hand coming up and tucking a lock of brown hair behind Becky’s ear. She takes a shaky breath as a smile blooms on her face, a nervous laugh bubbling up as she meets Becky’s eyes. “Is there a formal way to do this, or…?”

Becky grins innocently. “Do what?”

A huff. “Becks.”

“Charlie.”

Another bubble of laughter. It’s great sound, Becky decides. Like audible gold. Charlotte takes a deep breath of determination, eyes fixed on her face, those eyes like oceans, deep and blue. It’s like waking up from ages of darkness to the sun. “Asking you to be my-- my girlfriend.”

In answer, Becky reaches up and presses their lips together. Charlotte murmurs softly against her mouth as she kisses her back. If their first kiss had been an inferno, then this is like a star going into a supernova. She grips the front of Charlotte’s shirt, gasping, before pulling away and cupping Charlotte’s face with an almost dreamlike intensity, before a startling thought occurs to her. Her eyelids flutter as she tries to focus on Charlotte’s face. “Charlie… am I dreamin’?”

“No.” Charlotte chuckles, soft against Becky’s skin. “No, you’re not.” She bends her neck down a little her again, her forehead leaning against Becky’s, and whispers, “I’ve never been more awake.” 

“Do ya think…” She bats Charlotte’s hands away as they drift up her torso, laughing at the injured look on her best friend's-- no, scratch that-- her girlfriend’s face as she does so. The thought sends an insane thrill racing through her, like a warmth she carried inside her chest. Charlotte’s her _girlfriend_. The thought alone makes her smile. “Hold yer horses. Do you think we should tell anyone?”

Charlotte’s eyes slide over her face, considering her, head tilted to the side. Almost like a puppy. “Do you want to wait?”

“No,” Becky says, wholeheartedly. She grins, one that stretches broadly across her face and makes her warm inside, extinguishing the chill of the world outside, and she relinquishes the iron grip of constraint in her chest, reaching forward to trace the lines of Charlotte’s face, pressing her hand against her cheek. Charlotte leans into her touch, eyes closing before she smiles. It’s one of Charlotte’s special smiles Becky knows the taller woman reserves for her, one that’s as bright and beautiful as the stars above. “I think we’ve waited long enough, don’t you?”

“Yes,” Charlotte agrees. “But that doesn’t matter, Becks. I would have waited forever to know you.”

Becky smiles and lets go, does a dorky dance across the beach, kicking up sand as she goes. Charlotte follows with a soft look in her eyes, her sandals creating little craters with each step to follow Becky’s own skid marks created by kicking sand in her silly dance, and the shorter brunette turns to her, a smile curling her lips. 

Becky thinks Charlotte in the moonlight shows the duality of the goddess before her. During the day, she is Aphrodite, bathed in sunlight and ocean waves and gold. Strong and stable and everlasting. However, now that the sun has set and the night’s fallen across the beach, she’s Artemis, awash in moonlight and starshine and space dust, her eyes narrowed as she hunts Becky like one would hunt a doe in the woods. Her eyes shine with all the cunning of the great huntress as she follows Becky back up the beach towards her car, as the brunette darts in and out of the range of Charlotte’s long arms. Charlotte plays along, trying to catch the fire sprite that Becky believes herself to be, eventually managing to catch her prey.

She pulls Becky and the shorter brunette goes willingly, giggling like a schoolgirl as Charlotte looks at her, looks at her the way Artemis might look at her moon on a particularly clear summer’s night, just like this one. As if Becky were the only light in the sky.

“You are so beautiful,” Charlotte whispers.

A bubble of happiness swells to the top of Becky’s chest, buoyant and light. She leans in to kiss Charlotte. Her hands traces up Charlotte’s arm, traveling across the muscle, tapping against the tiny silvery scars that litter her skin. Arms and shoulders and a tiny one by her neck, and those are the ones that Becky can see. Maybe from childhood and, Becky hates the thought at it bubbles to the surface, from those who came before Becky. She knows of Charlotte’s disastrous marriage that lasted a year, and of her previous entanglement with some guy she can’t even remember the name of. Perhaps others would regard them as flaws, imperfections, but Becky sees them as a story, a map telling of Charlotte’s character, and they were as much a part of her as her heart and soul.

She’s so lucky that Charlotte’s chosen her, out of all the suitors in the world. The goddess coming out of the waves and down from the moon to grace Becky with her presence. She can feel Charlotte’s chuckle against her as she snuggles under the taller woman’s arm, as they head back to her car.

* * *

It's in a meandering fashion that they get out of the car and make their way up to Charlotte's apartment, fitting together now where they hadn’t before. Becky's hand in hers gives Charlotte the same feeling of electric energy crackling where their skin meets. More than once, they stop, simply distracted by one another. Charlotte's forgotten how thrilling it is in the beginning, how Becky's every movement catches her eye: the glint in those earth brown eyes, the way she walks as if a king among peasants, the way her hands stroked through Charlotte's hair as she kissed her.

Charlotte isn’t one to wax poetic. She’s pragmatic, logical. But this kiss, the soft movement of their mouths in perfect harmony, has to be some kind of magic, just like every kiss they’ve shared since their first. It’s everything a kiss should be-- exciting, enthusiastic, gentle and yet decisive-- and violent butterflies are causing a storm within Charlotte’s chest.

When they finally part, Charlotte’s traitorous heart hammering away, Becky’s eyes flutter open with adorable slowness. 

“Wow,” Becky breathes, smiling in a goofy sort of way. “Ya know, when we first met, I thought about what it would be like to kiss ya. I 'ad no idea how great it would be.”

“Stop it." Charlotte laughs, smacking her shoulder lightly. "We barely spoke when we met. I’ll admit, your jaw on the floor was a cute look.”

Becky snorts and wacks her back. “Yeah, because yer so pretty that I forgot how ta talk.”

Charlotte blushes, tucking her hair behind her ear, and in so doing she happens to glance at the door. Her apartment door.

“I guess you don’t really have the option to not call me, hmm? Since we work together and all that jazz,” Becky says, attempting flippancy and only half succeeding.

Becky laughs Charlotte’s nerves away, and waits for Charlotte to unlock the door. “As if I wouldn’t call you anyway,” Charlotte says. “This is the best date I’ve had in, well, forever.”

“Me, too,” Becky admits.

Easing the door open, Charlotte looks at Becky with a grin.

“Look, I don’t usually do this on the first date, but… would you like to come inside?” Charlotte winks, and Becky laughs, loud and surprised.

“Well, I wouldn’t say no to a nightcap.”

“By nightcap, I assume you mean popcorn, wine, and an unhealthy amount of Netflix?” Charlotte grins, knowing Becky’s usual nighttime routine from all the video chats, and Becky returns it, relaxing as Charlotte pulls her gently into the apartment by the hand.

* * *

Sunlight streams through the window in thick gold shafts, laced with shadow. Charlotte blinks, yawning, and sits up, before bumping into an unfamiliar warmth against her. She looks down, sees Becky’s back pressed against her chest, and the previous evening flashes back to her mind, filling her with absurd happiness. 

They must have fallen asleep on the couch while watching _ The Breakfast Club _ on Netflix. The bowl of popcorn sits next to the couch, only the kernels left, with a bottle of wine on the coffee table. Becky’s suspenders clutter the floor, along with both of their shorts from last night-- switched out for boxer or PJ shorts-- and Charlotte’s heart feels light when she realizes that, unlike the rest of her life, she doesn’t mind Becky’s mess mixing with hers. In her apartment or other places. 

Charlotte pulls the blanket down a little bit and Becky mumbles, smacks her lips, and whines as she presses further back into Charlotte’s chest.

She leans over. “Becky,” she whispers, “wake up.”

Her eyelids flickered, moving in dreams, and Charlotte presses a kiss to Becky’s forehead, runs her hand up and down Becky’s uncovered shoulder and arm. When she doesn’t wake up, Charlotte nudges her shoulder harder this time. Becky gasps before her eyes fly open, two wide rings of brown-gold, before focusing on Charlotte’s face. She scowls for a second before her face breaks into a small smile.

“Heya, Char,” Becky whispers. Charlotte feels those prickles of shyness now that it’s daylight, now that it feels real, somehow. More substantial.

Charlotte reaches down and brushes hair from Becky’s eyes with a small smile of her own. “Hey there, Becks.”

“So, las' night…” Becky struggles to come up with something, and, upon failing, takes a direct approach. “You and me. Are we a thing now? Because I-- I really like ya, Char. I like ya a lot. And I know I’m probably ramblin' right now and it’s annoyin' and I’m really sorry, I jus'-- I want ta make sure we’re on the same page--”

Charlotte sits up, placing her hands atop Becky’s. “We are on the same page, Becks. It’s not annoying. It’s another thing I like about you. And yes, we are,” she pressed her lips together to hide a smile, “a _thing,_ as you put it.”

She leans forward and kisses Becky, a chaste press of lips to hers. “More than anything. But,” Charlotte adds as she climbs over Becky’s body to fall to the floor next to the couch, “you have to get up, because much as I would like it not to be, we have stuff to do today. We’ve got to be at the PC for more practice. I think we’re going over characters and storylines. I could probably pick you up if you don’t hurry.”

“Charlie, I've seen ya thrown a poutin' Bayley o'er the edge of the practice ring with perfect dexterity. Trust me, I 'ave no doubt that, if the whim takes hold of ya, that ya definitely could pick me up. Easy as ya please.” When Charlotte smirks at her, stands up and takes a step forward, Becky holds up her hands. “That’s _not_ an invitation."

“It probably kills you to admit that,” Charlotte says, but she’s fighting back a smile as Becky sits up, fluffing out her brown hair and stretching with a yawn. Charlotte's smile widens as Becky takes her offered hand and the two of them begin a modified version of their daily routine so they can get on with their day. Charlotte gives Becky another shirt to change into because she’s got a change of clothes at the PC, a toothbrush, and a mug full of passion fruit tea, promising they’ll pick up Becky’s normal morning kombucha from that place near work.

The short brunette blasts Pearl Jam and, to mess with Charlotte, country tunes as they drive down to PC. She doesn’t say anything when Charlotte sings along under her breath, missing almost all the words to every song.

* * *

During a break between working on character development, storylines, and bump practice, Becky pulls Charlotte to the side. They talk for a few minutes about trying some signature moves out and what they want to do for lunch but, in the middle of proposing a lunch date at that new salad place down the street, Charlotte gives Becky a look that she just can’t refuse. The tension rises between them, heat simmering and bubbling in her chest. She can’t help it, reeled in when Charlotte pulls her close and presses their lips together. Electricity zips through her veins like she’s been hit by lightning and she wonders if it will always be this way with Charlotte. She feels the wall at her back and she whimpers when the taller woman blocks her in, a hand on the small of her back and the other cupping her neck.

“You know,” a new voice snarks from behind them, “I didn’t really believe it was possible for you two to get any more disgusting than the pining and the heart-eyes, but lo and behold, it would seem I was mistaken.” Charlotte spins around to see Sasha Banks, arms crossed and unamused expression on her face, staring at them, a faint smirk playing on her mouth. Bayley stands behind her, a huge shit-eating grin on her face, a crisp $10 bill in one hand.

Bayley squeals as Becky and Charlotte untangle themselves from each other, jumping up and down. She shakes Sasha’s arm so violently, the other woman has to physically stop her body.

“YOU GUYS ARE GETTING MARRIED????” Becky and Charlotte blink owlishly at Bayley, in unison, at her question out of left field. “AND YOU DIDN’T TELL US???? I AM OFFENDED.”

“What the fuck, Bay?” Sasha responds first while Becky and Charlotte share a confused look. “How’d you get married from a makeout session?”

“I can see it, Sasha,” Bayley runs forward and hugs the two other wrestlers to her. She’s got her typical Bayley look when she gets almost overexcited, stars in her eyes. “Can’t you?”

“I can see their relationship growing, but I’m not ringing any wedding bells,” Sasha argues, but Bayley can’t be swayed. Becky knows the hugger’s not gonna give this up for anything.

And so Charlotte and Becky stand there, while Sasha and Bayley argue, shyly glancing at one another.

Like morons.

**Author's Note:**

> Aren't they just the cutest? 
> 
> I hope you guys liked the fic. Let me know your favorite part of this tooth-rotting fluff party!
> 
> Don't forget to check out my other fics! Thanks, guys!


End file.
